Chapter 606: Help Me Feed... Feed the Cat...

Chapter 606: Chapter 606: Help Me Feed... Feed the Cat...

About five minutes passed.

Gregory Dawson assumed that if he didn’t answer, the person outside would take the hint and leave.

But just as he lifted his foot, the doorbell rang again.

Gregory Dawson’s brow furrowed so deeply you could have squashed a fly in it.

He clenched his fists, his face an ashen scowl.

"Damn it!" Gregory Dawson cursed, walking over to shut the door to the room where Levi Brooks was being held.

DING DONG DING DONG—

The doorbell rang incessantly.

With a grim expression, Gregory Dawson went to open the door and saw two tall men standing outside.

He composed himself and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Who are you?" Zachary Conway looked at him in surprise. "Where’s Levi Brooks?"

Gregory Dawson calmly explained, "I’m a relative of Levi’s."

"Oh." Zachary Conway lifted his chin slightly, gesturing for him to step aside. "Let’s go inside and talk."

"Sorry." Gregory Dawson blocked the doorway, clearly not intending to let them in. "Levi Brooks isn’t home, so I can’t invite you in."

He tried to shut the door, but Levi Hollis reached out and held it open.

Gregory Dawson’s expression flickered. He frowned. "What’s the meaning of this?"

"It’s fine. We’ll just wait here for Levi Brooks to get back," Zachary Conway said, sizing him up. "What kind of relative did you say you were?"

"I’m his cousin. Levi Brooks went on a long trip and asked me to come over and watch the house," Gregory Dawson lied without skipping a beat. "You should come back after he returns."

"A long trip?" Zachary Conway gave a skeptical smile. "Strange, he never mentioned it to us before."

"I wouldn’t know about that." Gregory Dawson shrugged nonchalantly. "You can call and ask him yourself."

Levi Hollis said coldly, "He’s not answering his phone. We’ll wait for him here."

Gregory Dawson’s face darkened as he suppressed his anger. "That’s not necessary. I don’t have time to entertain you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he shoved the door hard, trying to force it shut.

Zachary Conway also raised a hand, pressing it against the door. "Are you sure you’re Levi Brooks’s relative?"

Not wanting a confrontation, Gregory Dawson frowned. "I’m very sure. I’m busy. Come back in a few days."

"Well, that’s too bad," Zachary Conway said with a smirk. "We have to be here today."

Gregory Dawson’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes growing suspicious. "What do you want?"

"What’s your name?" Zachary asked.

"What’s it to you?" The unease in Gregory Dawson’s heart intensified. "Hurry up and leave! I’m busy!"

He reached out and shoved the two men.

The next second, a flash of silver glinted before his eyes, followed by a cold sensation on his wrist.

Gregory Dawson stared, and a look of terror instantly appeared on his face.

’Handcuffs?’

He looked up, stunned, his voice trembling. "Who... who in the world are you...?"

"Police." Levi Hollis showed his badge, his voice sharp. "Where is Levi Brooks?"

Gregory Dawson instinctively tried to bolt, but Zachary Conway, holding the other end of the handcuffs, yanked him hard and threw him against the wall.

Levi Hollis immediately lunged forward and pinned him down.

Zachary Conway walked into the house and saw a tightly closed door. He reached out and opened it.

The room was pitch-black. He reached up and flipped the switch on the wall. CLICK. The light illuminated every corner.

Dumpling was curled up beside the unconscious Levi Brooks, his cat-like eyes watching Zachary Conway warily.

"Don’t be scared." Zachary Conway approached slowly, speaking softly. "I’m a police officer. I’m here to rescue him."

’A rescuer!’

Dumpling instantly grew excited, wagging his tail furiously and meowing, "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! Hurry and save my master! I think he’s dying!"

Of course, Zachary Conway couldn’t understand what Dumpling was saying. He responded based on intuition, "Don’t you worry now. I’m going to check on the victim’s condition."

Just then, his earpiece rang.

Zachary Conway took out his phone and answered the call. "Chief."

Henry Stark’s calm voice came from the other end. "The ambulance has arrived."

"Understood," Zachary Conway replied immediately. After hanging up, he documented Levi Brooks’s current situation and condition, then carefully tore the tape from his mouth and untied the ropes binding his body.

Levi Brooks weakly opened his eyes. Seeing the stranger before him, a flicker of hope ignited in his heart. His voice was a bare whisper. "Help... help me..."

Zachary Conway reassured him, "You’re safe now. I’m a police officer."

Hearing this, Levi Brooks seemed to let out a sigh of relief. A faint smile touched his lips. "Th-thank you... Please... feed... feed my cat..."

Something struck Zachary Conway’s heart, and he couldn’t help but be moved.

He hadn’t expected Levi Brooks’s greatest concern to be his cat.

’Is this what cat owners are like?’

"Don’t worry, I’ll feed him for you," Zachary Conway promised.

Levi Brooks was taken to the hospital by ambulance, while Gregory Dawson was taken to the station in a police car.

The entire way, he kept trying to figure out what had gone wrong, how Levi Brooks could have had the chance to call the police.

Henry Stark also left Eastgate Villa and returned to the station to interrogate Gregory Dawson.

"Why did you harm Levi Brooks?" The man’s gaze was like a razor’s edge, carrying an oppressive aura.

Gregory Dawson didn’t have the courage to meet his eyes. He looked down and retorted, "I didn’t harm him."

"You didn’t harm him? Then why was Levi Brooks tied to a chair and covered in injuries?"

"How should I know?" Gregory Dawson waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe he did it to himself. You know, artsy types like him can be pretty strange sometimes."

"It’s all right." Henry Stark stood up and said calmly, "You have plenty of time to think it over."

Henry Stark left the interrogation room and saw Zachary Conway holding a cat. "Levi Brooks’s cat?"

"Yeah." Zachary Conway nodded. "Renee Jennings said she has some questions for him tomorrow, so she told me to bring him along."

"Alright." Henry Stark glanced at the round-headed, roly-poly cat and chuckled. "Let’s call it a day."

**

Zephyr returned to Eastgate Villa.

"Zephyr’s back."

Renee Jennings was sitting at her vanity doing her skincare routine. She watched Zephyr in the mirror, her tone slightly teasing. "You’re back? You say that like you own the place."

"What’s wrong?" Zephyr flapped his wings and flew onto the vanity, staring at her curiously with his big, round eyes.

"Why are you staring at me?" Renee Jennings asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zephyr blinked his eyes. "Zephyr thinks you sound a little passive-aggressive."

"You even know what ’passive-aggressive’ means?" A flicker of surprise crossed Renee Jennings’s face.

"Of course," Zephyr said haughtily. "Zephyr is a well-traveled and knowledgeable falcon. You cannot imagine Zephyr’s wisdom."

Renee Jennings snorted. "I can’t be bothered to imagine. And I don’t like meddling in other people’s business."

Zephyr retorted, "If you don’t like meddling, then why do you raise so many furry kids?"

Hearing this, Renee Jennings was both exasperated and amused. "Is raising ’furry kids’ considered meddling?"

Zephyr said, full of confidence, "Of course it is! Zephyr heard other humans say so with his own ears."

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated low-rise neighborhood down the alley, the sound of dogs barking occasionally broke the silence.

A man with a knife scar on his nose sat on his balcony drinking. On the railing rested several greasy skewers of meat, wisps of steam rising from them.